The program provides four tiers with benefits for each level of participation and support. The corporate sponsorship program will run for a 365-day period and may be renewed annually upon request. This new program will replace the previous Summer Meeting Sponsorship and Exhibitor program, but will incorporate some of the same benefits and more.

NCHA supports its member hospitals by providing education, information, advocacy and leadership to help hospitals and health systems deliver quality and affordable healthcare to all residents of North Carolina. Companies that provide goods and services to NC hospitals and health systems are vital to this mission.

With sponsorship, your company will gain exposure at up to three annual NCHA meetings and through regular communication between NCHA and its members. Benefits vary, so read through the attached sponsorship information carefully. Please submit your sponsorship form and payment by January 31, 2017 to begin receiving full benefits.

If you have questions about the NCHA Corporate Sponsorship Program, please visit our website at www.ncha.org or contact Pamala Rogers at 919-677-4127, progers@ncha.org.

Patients present to the ED for both acute and chronic pain. How that pain is managed will be important to preventing future addiction or perpetuating a potential substance abuse problem. Additionally, appropriate management of post operative and chronic pain in both the in-patient and out-patient settings may not take into account the risks and benefits of short and long-term opioid use. In fact 99% of doctors prescribe opioids for longer than the CDC Guideline recommends.

Conditions in which opioids are commonly prescribed are: any type of acute, chronic back, joint, neuropathic and dental pain, fibromyalgia and chronic headaches. Many patients believe that only opioids provide effective pain relief and often ask for them by name (Percocet. Vicodin, etc.). Come to this Safe Table to share your organizations’s experiences and learn from others in an effort to address how to improve pain management in various settings.

A Safe Table provides a forum for NCQC PSO members to network and exchange patient safety experiences and best practices in an open, uninhibited and legally protected environment. Most importantly, it helps build a strong and supportive patient safety community where collective learning is valued and collegial relationships are supported and encouraged.

Safe Tables are legally protected under the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 that allow health care providers to convene and have open dialogue about patient safety and quality of care issues. All attendees are required to sign confidentiality agreements and all information shared will remain confidential and privileged.

Attendees should bring 1 or 2 de-identified events that occurred in their organization to share in an open discussion. Remove any patient or provider identifiable information. The Safe Table discussions take place within the NCQC Patient Safety Evaluation System to encourage open and robust dialogue about these events and what can be done to prevent them without fear of discovery. Also bring your prescribing protocols for discussion!

The Safe Table discussions take place within the NCQC Patient Safety Evaluation System to encourage open and robust dialogue about these events and what can be done to prevent them without fear of discovery.

This webinar is for NCHA member hospitals ONLY

Date: Tuesday, December 13 from 1:00 - 2:00pm

Classical process improvement approaches have fallen behind and will not be able to catch up to the pace of needed changes. The Simpler Business System® (SBS), with embedded Toyota principles (also known as Lean thinking), has been used to realize far-reaching and lasting improvements for revenue cycle processes in hospitals, clinics, and physician practices for more than a decade. At its core, the SBS is built around certain basic principles:

Respect. Participants must have respect for the people involved and for the goal of continuous improvement.

Date: Tuesday, December 13 from 3:00 - 4:00 pm

Hospital decision-makers deal with a broad range of issues on a day-to-day basis, from leases of space, contracts with third-party vendors, sponsorship of local sports teams or events, creation of quality and clinical improvement measures, and employment of physicians and other staff. These activities are often evaluated separate and apart from compliance concerns, which are commonly considered to arise in the context of billing or health information privacy. Many times, however, there are potential compliance concerns that can have significant ramifications if not identified and addressed at the outset. This program will discuss specific examples to help hospital personnel recognize and address potential compliance issues in their every-day work and when to involve their organization’s compliance professionals.

Learning Objectives

Identify potential contracting pitfalls and recognize common contract terms (or the lack thereof) that can cause problems down the road.

Recognize the appropriate scope of due diligence to be performed before hiring third-party data contractors, as well as the scope and frequency of risk assessments and data monitoring.

Issue spot and identify problematic relationships with physicians that may subject the provider to compliance enforcement.

Assess potential compliance issues in sponsorship, community support or civic activities.

Realize when free transportation for patients among system locations can present compliance concerns

Understand circumstances when accommodation of a physician or board member could create compliance problems.

Come learn, collaborate and network with community providers, hospitals, long-term care, home health, hospice, government programs and others from across the state interested in strengthening care transitions. The day will include a keynote address, multiple panel sessions, breakout sessions, and newtorking opportunities.

If you are interested in giving a presentation in one of our breakout sessions, please submit a presentation abstract at the following link: Summit Presenter Abstract Form

Winter Meeting is an annual NCHA membership event featuring high quality education sessions on current issues, an ACHE breakfast meeting, and networking opportunities including a reception honoring the North Carolina Council of State. Registration is open both to NCHA member hospital representatives and others in the healthcare field.

Venue and Accomodations UPDATE:
This year's event takes place at the ......

NEW THIS YEAR: A link to make your reservations at the hotel will be sent once your registration is confirmed. You will not be able to make a room reservation until your meeting registration has been confirmed. The hotel cut off date is February 1 or when the block is full; whichever comes first.

A 7-day cancellation policy will apply for overnight rooms. Any room cancelled after February 11 will be charged one night's room and tax. Guests holding multiple rooms under one name will be required to give all names at least 7 days prior to arrival.

Cancellations received by February 1 will be refunded minus a $50 processing fee per registrant. After Feburary 1, refunds can not be granted but substitutions are accepted. Please call James Hayes at 919-677-4246 or email jhayes@ncha.org with the substitutes name, title and contact information.

Special Needs:
NCHA wishes to ensure that not individual is excluded, denied services, segrated or otherwise treated differently from others because of the absence of auxiliary aids or services. If you need any of the auxiliary aids or services identified in the Americans with Disabilities Act, contact NCHA Education Services, at 919-677-4245.

Medical error can be prevented by improved communication and teamwork. Therefore, it is crucially important to develop teams and leadership within teams. The Institute of Medicine recommends that healthcare organizations establish “interdisciplinary team training programs for providers that incorporate proven methods of team training.” TeamSTEPPS® is a teamwork training curriculum designed to successfully provide a tool to teach evidence-based teamwork aimed at optimizing patient outcomes by improving competent skills among healthcare professionals. The train-the-trainer session prepares individuals to plan, teach and implement a TeamSTEPPS® intervention.